The present invention relates to hanging ornaments, and more particularly to ornaments typically hung on Christmas trees.
Hanging bulb-like ornaments have long been utilized to decorate Christmas trees. Some of these ornaments have personalized messages or pictures printed thereon that evoke memories of past holidays and events, and are therefore highly desirable. Unfortunately, printing personalized messages or pictures on the curved exterior surface of a bulb-like ornament is tedious and therefore very expensive.
What is needed is method of producing bulb-like ornaments having personalized messages and/or pictures that is both attractive and cost effective.
The present invention is directed to an ornament characterized by a printed insert bearing a personalized message or picture that is suspended within a transparent bulb. The printed insert is produced by printing the personalized message or picture onto transparency paper using a computer and color printer, and cutting the transparency paper to form a disk-shaped insert that is sized to fit within the transparent bulb. The printed insert is then curled and inserted through the opening of the transparent bulb, and is then suspended within the transparent bulb from a cap using a hitch pin (fastener). Because the indicia is printed on a flat sheet using known methods and equipment, a personalized ornament is inexpensively and conveniently produced that avoids the expensive and complicated conventional method of printing on a spherical surface.
The present invention is also directed to a method for making personalized ornaments that includes the steps of printing messages or pictures onto a transparency sheet, cutting the transparency sheet to form an insert, connecting the insert to a cap, and then inserting the insert into a transparent bulb until the cap is mounted over an opening of the transparent bulb and the insert is suspended in an interior chamber of the transparent bulb.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a tool is provided for curling the insert before insertion into the bulb, thereby greatly simplifying the production of multiple ornaments.
The present invention is also directed to a kit (assembly) for producing the novel ornaments. The kit includes a transparent bulb, instructions and/or materials for producing the printed inserts, and the curling tool described above.
The present invention will be more fully understood in view of the following description and drawings.